Help with ending horrible vaping addiction

[Bloopoooooo]

Would love to hear success stories. I am so ashamed of my vaping; I am getting through about 1½ disposables a day.
I quit smoking in my late 20's, I had the impetus of wanting to start trying for a baby.

Managed to stay off the cigs for a decade and got to the point where I didn't miss smoking and could even be around others smoking and not minding or being tempted.
Stupidly went out on a night out where some random offered me a go on his Elf bar. Liked it. Bought one for the weekend. Didn't have any more for another week or so but then next weekend away I bought another.
It's completely spiralled from there and now I'm getting through about 3 in 2 days.

I went our with friends at the weekend and as no seats indoors we went outside; I got through 2 disposable ones in one evening.

I can't enjoy cinema or theatre anymore cos I'm just itching to vape.

I'm hiding in the bathroom vaping so my kids don't see me but the older one has found packets and been understandably very upset.

I went cold turkey for about a month because I was on holiday and then for a few weeks after, but as soon as something stressful happened at work I bought one and am back at square one.

I am thinking of getting a liquid, non-disposable one and gradually increasing the amount of liquid that has no nicotine in it, but no idea where to start as have only used disposable ones.

Absolutely mortified when parents from school see me puffing away and I'm mid-40's so feel like I am way too old for this.

Any advice please?

I wonder if this would help @Bloopoooooo https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/11/nhs-rolls-out-stop-smoking-pill-to-help-tens-of-thousands-quit/ ?? Could ask your local stop smoking service

I'm in a similar situation. Quit smoking, then years later in stressful situation started vaping and I vape far too much.

My son quit smoking with a nicotine inhaler, so that might be worth trying.

I would recommend an Innokin ecig, not too expensive and you can use low nicotine eliquid.

No advice but I'm the same and I really need to stop. It's disgusting

as an aside 20 Marlboro gold are almost treble what you paid at £6 -
now pushing £18 !

I stopped back in October but vaping still

Lio Journey Pack - By Breathlio.

Look them up and think about giving it ago. I use this now instead of going outside in the evening to smoke a cigarette.

I don’t understand going back to smoking rather than vaping? Surely that is far, far worse for your health.

I vape, not a disposable because the nicotine is too strong, but I’ve cut my liquid down to 3mg, then I’ll go to zero and then plan to quit. It’s hard OP!

@YesHonestly I wasn't addicted to smoking cigarettes. I might smoke about 10 - 15 per year and then probably only smoke a quarter of each cigarrette. I stopped smoking for 15 years and then only had a few puffs if I was stressed - when my DF died.

Step 1.
Go on to Nicotine replacement in a sub-lingual tablet, or patch.

That is to dissociate from holding the vaper and puffing.

Step 2.
Gradually reduce the step 1 nicotine.

Step 3.
Do not go on to sugar. Sugar ups and downs are related to smoking craving somehow.
Have regular small snacks with protein.

Avoid too much caffeine.Take magnesium to reduce anxiety.( Non laxative version kind.)

Look up emotional freedom technique.

Can anyone who knows about vapes please link a vape with low nicotine in one kit that the OP and the rest of us can use? I go on vape site and find it all too confusing.

I found this with vaping, I was so much more addicted to it than I ever was with cigarettes. I couldn’t get through a train journey or a cinema trip, let alone a flight.

I gradually cut down through the strengths until I was on 0%. I gave myself permission to vape as much 0% as I liked and I did for a couple of weeks which got me through the worst of the withdrawal. One day I realised I hadn’t picked it up all day so put it away in a cupboard and it never came out again.

Good luck, I am so glad I quit, I felt so free and still do 5 years later.

I understand, but surely even at that level you’re inhaling far more toxic chemicals/tar/carcinogenics than vaping heavily?

Nicotine addiction isn’t great, but nicotine itself isn’t harmful. It’s all the other stuff in tobacco that damages your health.

I’m not judging btw, I’ve been a heavy smoker and I’m now a vaper, I just think that smoking cigarettes, however few that may be, is worse than vaping.

I stopped about a month ago, I use the Nicorette quck mist, it does work. The first few times you use it you think you’re spraying acid in, but you become used to it,. Clearly I will need to stop that too, but it is better than vaping.

Try a nicorette inhalator. Vaping was irritating my chest more than cigs, and the move to the above was actually way easier than I thought it would be. I chew on it more than anything now, ADHD can forget about it until it's in my line of sight. You might be able to get one via the NHS smoking cessation service. 4 months cig and 3 months vape free.

I vaped all day every day but have been vape-free for just over 3 years now. I quit cold-turkey two days after Christmas because I hated being addicted to something and letting it rule my life (literal anxiety attack and leaving events early if my battery ran out...)

This is what I did to quit:

• throw away vape juice, batteries, filters. All of it. If it's there you will use it. You have to have to have to throw it away and get it out of your house.
• started a timer from when I last vaped - used a quit smoking app. After 60 hours or something you're no longer actually addicted. Seeing the time tick away helped me. honestly after 2 days and nights I was fine physically. It was just the mental addiction then.
• sucked on hard sweets and lollies CONSTANTLY. I wanted to vape so badly but just having something in my mouth really helped.
• got an old pen lid with a hole in the end that I used to suck air through when I wanted to vape.
• reached for my vape every time I got up for weeks after. But over time just got less and now I never even want it or will ever use it again.

I know someone else who quit with great success by using herbal vapes called ripple from super drug.

A breathing necklace? It's basically a metal tube you can breath through to replace the hand to mouth thing. I'm thinking about it myself as I started vaping to quit smoking 12yrs ago! I'm down to 1mg nicotine so it's not even nicotine addiction at this point. I'm getting fed up of the constant puffing on it like it's a comfort thing.

It is a bit complicated but I can try and recommend something.

It's not the kit itself that comes with nicotine. Nicotine is entirely separate, but you need a kit to adjust your own nicotine. All those disposables have a high amount of nicotine so they're very addictive and pretty expensive.

I linked this one earlier -

https://www.ecigwizard.com/products/aspire-gotek-x-pod-kit

They need replacement pods about once a week, which are these - https://www.ecigwizard.com/products/aspire-gotek-x-replacement-pods-pack-of-2

I recommend nicotine salts with a shortfill on that one -

https://www.ecigwizard.com/products/shorty-nics-nic-salt-shots

Then you just need to choose what flavour you like -

https://www.ecigwizard.com/collections/short-fill-eliquid

That website does a deal with a free bottle of 50ml vape juice with the vape kit, which you can add a little nicotine bottle to. The vape kit will come with a pod and a little charging cable. So that would be everything you need.

Then you can gradually add a little bit less of the nicotine shot until you're vaping straight flavouring.

Go buy a simple refillable and rechargeable pen one in a supermarket or similar. You then buy the liquid separately.

DH has a ridiculous fire breathing beast that would break your foot if he dropped it on you. The deep breathing gasp he makes when he sucks on it 24/7 drives me absolutely mental. It also requires a massive amount of upkeep - replacement parts, cleaning, refuelling and vast quantities of liquids.

My Mum has a pen one and it's very discreet and you barely notice her using it.

Both are down to almost no nicotine in their respective devices, but DH has clearly got a problem and he's decided he's starting nicotine patches next month. Thank god.

Ask your gp for varenicline. It really helps with the cravings by blocking the nicotine receptors in your brain.
good luck

You can't get help on the NHS to stop vaping.

I switched from cigarettes to heated tobacco last year but decided to make an appointment with the stop smoking nurse a few weeks ago. My carbon monoxide level on heated tobacco is the same as a non smoker so they can't help me either and she told me they didn't provide support for vaping.

I hate to advise anyone on how to maintain a nicotine addiction I'm so keen to give up but I will say that heated tobacco comes in single use sticks which you use and finish like a cigarette, they do give off a small amount of smoke so I use them outdoors as I did cigarettes. The type I use have far lower levels of nicotine in than the cigarettes I used to smoke. I use the Iqos brand.

I'm currently weening myself using nicotine lozenges which is going OK but I think may take a while. I use an anti anxiety breathing necklace too just to replicate the hand to mouth action. I still go out doors with the lozenges and necklace to maintain the inconvenience factor.

Please don't replace your vape with cigarettes. Stopping smoking is a very worthwhile thing to do. Good luck.

@FOJN there is always a postcode lottery of services but the nhs (in theory at least) does provide help to stop vaping, ,my local service does at least . People can still ask eg. Pharmacist about changing to alternative nicotine withdrawal products and I would encourage people to do so.

I was advised to speak to a pharmacist but my point was you cannot get a prescription for anti smoking medication on the NHS because they cannot monitor your carbon monoxide levels which seems to be a requirement to access that kind of help. Vaping gives you the same carbon monoxide level as a non smoker.

@FOJN Ah thank u, I understand..I hadn’t seen that CO2 montoring was a specific requirement in the NiCE guidelines for Varenicline but I get why the smoking cessation services might have that as an outcome / monitoring measure. Hopefully there may come other approaches to it as vaping addiction is becoming a horrible problem for some and I am uncomfortable when NHS services which are (understandably ) promoting e cigs for smoking cessation are then not supporting people to quit those too ( especially because I have also heard of cases of people reverting to smoking because they feel overwhelmed by their vaping addiction)

Thank you, I will try these! I think I enjoy vaping more because I like eating sweet stuff and the flavours I use are basically like haribo or something. And before I smoked and when I stopped I'd always have a pen or something that I'd chew on

Oh well done you for quitting! I like the start of a nice clean fresh day! X